Confidence in economic growth hits 4-week high

By Steve RandallFont size :

Canadians are more confident in future growth of the economy now than they have been for 4 weeks.

The Canadian Confidence Index from Bloomberg and Nanos Research ticked up to 58.75 in the week ending July 21, a jump from the 58.24 reading a week earlier. The 2017 average is 58.06 with a high of 59.44 seen in April.

“Although perceptions of real estate values continue to depreciate, there is now a higher percentage of consumers who think the economy will be stronger than weaker in the coming year. That should only help reinforce the virtuous circle of increased consumer sentiment driving household consumption and the overall economy”, said Bloomberg economist Robert Lawrie.

Positive perception for personal finances including mortgages and the overall economy were higher but respondents were less optimistic about job security and real estate prices.

Ontario and BC were the only regions to see a gain in optimism while most income groups were more positive.

“The rationale for the recent rate increase from the Bank of Canada, that the economy is emerging from sputtering growth sends the signal that Canadians should be hopeful, even factoring higher borrowing rates which may impact them personally,” said Nanos Research Group Chairman Nik Nanos.

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